The new Erasmus+ is the European Union's programme to support education, training, youth, and sport for the period 2021-2027. It focuses on high-quality, inclusive education, training, and formal or non-formal education that gives young people and adults the skills they need to participate actively in a democratic society and make a successful transition to the labour market. The programme aims to develop an inclusive, cohesive, green, and digital society.

Support for language learning and placements abroad should become an achievable standard, and Erasmus+ seeks to offer this opportunity to everyone, regardless of socio-economic background, cultural background, or health disadvantage. The programme also supports skills development in areas such as mitigating climate change, clean energy, artificial intelligence, and data analysis. All of these factors are key to Europe's sustainable growth.

In line with the EU's objective on the transition to a sustainable economy, Erasmus+ supports environmentally friendly projects involving green measures across the board. The programme thus contributes to high quality education and social cohesion and is one of the EU's most popular projects, building on more than 35 years of experience.

Sustainable internationalization

Although internationalization is an important area not only for European universities that contributes to academia and society as a whole, it faces challenges in the area of sustainability and green transformation. Several initiatives have been set up to address the environmental impact of Erasmus+.

• Running from 2020 to 2022, Green Erasmus aims to raise environmental awareness and promote sustainable practices among Erasmus+ participants by using green means of transport (e.g. bikes, trains, buses, ride-sharing), reducing the carbon footprint and implementing environmentally friendly measures in Erasmus+ funded projects. The aim was to include environmental education in mobility programmes and to encourage students and staff to adopt sustainable living habits.

• Erasmus Goes Green, also running from 2020 to 2022, was an initiative similar to Green Erasmus and aimed at reducing the environmental impact of Erasmus+ mobility. The website includes a carbon footprint calculator for the chosen means of transport or simple advice on how to reduce your environmental footprint.

• Sustainable Erasmus+ Travel (SET) is a project for the period 2024 to 2026 and builds on the previous two programmes on green mobility for the university community. Learn more about CU's participation in the SET project and ongoing activities HERE.